Less glitz, more grit for Madison Central

Hall reasserts control of offense

For Madison Central, the consensus feeling in the locker room is the team became better the moment its 2013 season ended at the hands of Tupelo.

Amidst another run through the playoffs was discord on the field and off, something that was concealed outside the locker room but affected on field play.

"I think getting everyone to buy into the team concept is one of the greatest challenge that we as coaches face today," said Hall, who is 71-22 in eight seasons at Madison. "We're in a society where it's a 'me-me' world."

"We're a lot closer than the team was last year," said junior linebacker Tiki McField. "Not having selfish players and being all-in for the team will really help along the way."

Aside from the increased cohesion of the team is an emphasis on the hallmarks of Bobby Hall coached teams: a physically imposing offensive line and a thirst to run the ball with an edge.

"I think I have the best offensive line in the state," said senior quarterback Trey Smith. "We got beef, we got pork chops, anything. We just gotta be able to stay focused and use our techniques and do what coach tells us."

Madison Central opens its season on the road at Louis Gene Strickland Field versus Brandon on Thursday, Aug. 21 at 7 p.m.

MADISON CENTRAL FOOTBALL HAS BEEN LIKE CLOCKWORK ON THE WATCH OF BOBBY HALL--10 WIN SEASONS, APPEARANCES IN THE STATE SEMIFINALS, ALBEIT HEART- WRENCHING SEMIFINAL LOSSES...BUT LAST YEAR SAW ONLY 9 WINS AND DEFEAT IN THE QUARTERFINALS--SOME THING WAS AFOOT ON THE BIG PAW IN JAGUAR STADIUM--BAD APPLES IN THE BUNCH, GOOD KIDS, BUT FLAWED TEAMMATES CHEMISTRY AND COHESION ALSO PRESENT ON THE COACHING STAFF--7 ASSISTANTS RETURN, THE ONLY FRESH FACE IS MIKE DAVIS WHO WILL HELP COORDINATE THE OFFENSE. LAST SEASON WAS AN OFFENSIVE EXPERIMENT--A PASSING GAME PREDICATED ON SCREEN'S, A RUDDERLESS RUN GAME--THINGS THAT DEVIATE FROM HALL'S TRIED AND TRUE FORMULA--BUT HE'S BACK TO HIS OLD DEVICES TO DO THAT, HE'LL NEED HIS YOUNG, INEXPERIENCED LINE TO BE HUNGRY---BOTH LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY ICE BUCKET